EPL

Dejan Kulusevski snatches Tottenham a point in Manchester City thriller

By Sports Desk December 03, 2023

Dejan Kulusevski scored a 90th-minute equaliser as Tottenham snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at champions Manchester City.

Substitute Jack Grealish looked to have secured City’s first Premier League win in three games when he struck nine minutes from time.

Pep Guardiola’s side had led 2-1 at the break thanks to a Phil Foden goal after Son Heung-min had scored at both ends, but Giovani Lo Celso’s superb strike made it 2-2.

With Spurs committing numerous errors, City had the chances to win convincingly but paid the price for their wastefulness.

It was their third successive draw and there was further frustration as Rodri was booked, ruling him out of the midweek trip to Aston Villa. Grealish will also be suspended against his former club.

For Spurs, after three successive defeats and a multitude of injuries, it was a highly creditable point.

City made a positive start and threatened early on when the dangerous Jeremy Doku forced a save from goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Yet from the resulting corner the hosts were punished as Vicario palmed the ball away and it was launched long out of defence towards Son.

The Korean was quickly into his stride and could not be caught as he raced into the area and rifled a shot past Ederson to give the visitors a sixth-minute lead.

It seemed the perfect start for Spurs but the celebrations quickly turned sour for the goalscorer.

Son was wrong-footed as Julian Alvarez’s free-kick into the area was glanced by Erling Haaland and could not prevent the ball ricocheting off his knee into his own net.

Spurs should have conceded again moments later but were spared by an extraordinary and uncharacteristic miss by Haaland.

The prolific Norwegian looked certain to score after Bernardo Silva seized on a loose pass and squared across the area but he somehow screwed his effort wide.

City also had some sloppy moments at the back.

Ruben Dias got back to clear after Brennan Johnson got behind the defence following another long ball and Rodri tidied up after Silva gave the ball away in a dangerous position.

Spurs survived again after Doku cut inside and smashed a shot against the crossbar but City broke through after 31 minutes.

Tottenham contributed to their own downfall after giving away position and City passed their way through, with Foden finishing off following a neat turn and lay-off by Alvarez.

Alvarez struck the base of a post with another effort and Haaland was again wasteful, this time shooting over, when Spurs once more lost possession.

Tottenham continued to live dangerously and when their attempts to play out from the back faltered again early in the second half, it took a fine save from Vicario to deny Silva.

City were to rue their profligacy as Lo Celso pulled his side level 21 minutes from time.

An Alvarez pass was intercepted on halfway and Spurs pushed forward with Son finding Lo Celso on the edge of the area. The Argentinian cut inside onto his left foot and sent a low curling shot beyond Ederson’s fingertips and in off the far post.

City were jolted into action and Rodri sent a shot whistling wide before Grealish turned in from a Haaland cutback.

It seemed victory was secured but Spurs had other ideas with Kulusevski rising to power in, with what seemed to be his shoulder, from a Johnson cross.

The game ended in controversy, and with Haaland fuming, after play was initially allowed to go on after the forward was fouled as he played Grealish in on goal before it was then called back.

Related items

  • 'You cannot switch off for one second' - Silva rues late West Ham equaliser 'You cannot switch off for one second' - Silva rues late West Ham equaliser

    Marco Silva conceded Fulham "cannot switch off for one second" in the Premier League, after Danny Ings' last-gasp equaliser denied the Cottagers all three points against West Ham.

    The hosts appeared on course to take the spoils in the London derby at Craven Cottage, where Raul Jimenez put them in front after 24 minutes.

    However, the visitors snatched a dramatic equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when substitute Ings fired past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

    And Silva acknowledged his side's brief lapse in concentration proved costly.

    "It just shows that in this Premier League, you cannot switch off for one second," he told BBC Sport. "We are aware of the quick throws, and we have to keep focus and concentration.

    "A big frustration for us because, before that, it was a good performance. It was clear we were the best team on the pitch. They did not have one shot [on target] in the first half.

    "We should have won this game. It was not a game where West Ham pushed us back. The goal came after we switched off. It just shows you have to keep focus until the last second."

    Silva also felt Fulham should have been awarded a first-half penalty when Adama Traore was challenged by Max Kilman.

    "It was a clear, clear, penalty in my opinion," he added. "It's difficult to understand why it was not a penalty in that situation. I don't even want to say anything more about it."

    Meanwhile, West Ham boss paid tribute to Ings, who was making only his second Premier League appearance of the season - with both coming as a late substitute.

    "It was a very 'Danny Ings' goal!", Lopetegui told West Ham's official website. "He is always agile in those kinds of actions, and he took his chance very well.

    "I'm really happy for him, because he hasn't played much up until now, but he is always ready to go. He is a really good example to all of his team-mates, and it's great to see his work pay off.

    "As a player, it can be hard when you don't know when the coach is going to call you. The important thing is to try and always be ready, because you are going to be needed at some point.

    "Scoring in the last minute today is important, because he's shown everyone that you have to believe until the end. Even though there were things we could do better today, we kept going, and we got something out of the game."

  • Liverpool 'not good enough' in Forest defeat, says furious Slot Liverpool 'not good enough' in Forest defeat, says furious Slot

    Arne Slot slammed Liverpool's performance after their perfect start to his reign came crashing to a halt with Saturday's surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest.

    Callum Hudson-Odoi's deflected second-half strike proved decisive as Forest earned their first league victory at Anfield in 55 years, having last triumphed on the ground against Bill Shankly's Reds in 1969.

    Liverpool's 14 shots throughout the game gave them a total expected goals (xG) figure of just 0.87, with only five of those attempts forcing Matz Sels into action.

    The Reds boasted a 69.6% possession share but only marginally beat Forest's 56 final-third entries with 70 of their own, leaving Slot to bemoan their lethargic play in possession.

    "The result frustrates me the most and we cannot be happy about how the game went. It was a stop-start game and we hardly created any chances," Slot told BBC Sport.

    "We only have to look at ourselves, we have to be better. Far too many times we lost the ball around the area, it was not good enough. We have to be better with the ball.

    "Our decisions and execution weren't good enough. 

    "In general, we defended quite well but the two fast players came on and made it difficult for us. We took a lot of risks and in the end it was a very good goal."

    Liverpool have now lost two of their last five Premier League matches at Anfield (three wins), having only lost one of their previous 58 before this run.

    Forest, meanwhile, have won four straight away Premier League matches for the first time since 1995, and they sit just one point behind Liverpool in the early-season standings.

    Boss Nuno Espirito Santo was delighted with their defensive work, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "Liverpool are such a good team, it required a lot of effort from the players... the organisation, tackling and the covering.

    "The only way to achieve anything here is if you are organised and do everything that you can.

    "When you start the way we started with our wingers, Nico Dominguez and Elliot Anderson – all the effort of them tracking Liverpool's full-backs, it is a lot of energy.

    "We are working hard and it is about building and believing in this idea that you can develop."

  • Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest: Hudson-Odoi provides reality check for Slot Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest: Hudson-Odoi provides reality check for Slot

    Callum Hudson-Odoi's goal gave Nottingham Forest their first league victory at Anfield in 55 years and ended Liverpool's perfect start to life under Arne Slot on Saturday.

    Substitute Hudson-Odoi scored the only goal of the game after 72 minutes, capping a lightning Forest counterattack with a curling strike that deflected in off Ibrahima Konate.

    Liverpool had earlier gone close through Luis Diaz as he struck the base of the post in the first half, but they struggled to pose Nuno Espirito Santo's men too many problems in a flat display.

    The defeat, which comes after impressive shutout victories over Ipswich Town, Brentford and Manchester United, means Liverpool have lost early ground on Manchester City, who now boast a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

    Forest, meanwhile, remain unbeaten in 2024/25 and move up into fourth place with eight points, just one behind Saturday's opponents, who stay second.

    Luis Diaz had the first real chance of the match when he rattled the post after 16 minutes, dispossessing Ryan Yates at the byline before cutting inside from the left and seeing his shot bounce clear off the woodwork.

    Matz Sels almost caused Forest's undoing just before half-time as he spilled Diaz's looping header, but it was his team-mate Hudson-Odoi who got the eventual winner. 

    Cutting inside from the left, he bent an effort towards the far corner, with a deflection off Konate carrying it out of Alisson's reach to condemn Liverpool to defeat.

    Data Debrief: Forest end Anfield hoodoo

    It is the first time Nottingham Forest have won away at Liverpool in the league since winning 2-0 against Bill Shankly's side in 1969.

    It is also the first time Forest manager Nuno has achieved Premier League victory against Liverpool, having lost his previous seven meetings with them.

    Since the start of last season, meanwhile, winning goalscorer Hudson-Odoi (four) is third only to Phil Foden (six) and Eberechi Eze (five) for goals scored from outside the box in the top flight. 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.